Joyride
by Witblogi
Summary: The national xenolinguistics conference is in town, and Spock has offered to take Cadet Uhura. The thing is, she didn't expect to be getting there in quite such... style.
1. Chapter 1

This was written after reading an article about the fashion choices made in the newest Star Trek movie. In this article the designer comments on a cut scene that involved Sarek riding up on a motorcycle and rescuing Amanda (after she's just left her house and seen the drill). After reading i figured if Sarek can have a motorcycle why the hale can't Spock?! It's only logical :P

The link to my LiveJournal fiction community is provided as my homepage in my profile if you are interested in this article, or would like to see the banner (of ZQ on a motorcycle no less) that accompanies this fic :)

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**Joyride**

" _You_ own a hoverbike?" She asked with disbelief. She'd figured they'd be taking a cross-town shuttle when he asked her to meet him under the largest poplar tree on campus near the Omega block.

Instead he'd taken her to a storage facility near by and opened the small garage locker they now stood in. Spock cocked an eyebrow at her as he continued to check that the systems of the machine were still functioning optimally.

"_ Why?_" she gaped spreading her arms slightly. She felt like she was in some surreal world, guys like Jim Kirk rode hoverbikes, not Spock, Commander no – Professor _–Vulcan_ – Spock.

" I would have thought such a machine's purpose for transportation would have been abundantly clear to you Cadet-"

" Nyota. We're not in class and we're going off campus, there's no need for rank," She leveled a glare at him, she wasn't about to go to an event that was sure to be one of the highlights of her life if he was going to insist on being a wet blanket chaperone.

" Nyota," he acquiesced with an incline of his head, handing her one sleek, shiny black helmet and taking up the other for himself.

" You didn't answer my question. Why do you have hoverbike? And don't tell me for transportation purposes because you don't go off campus that much." She set the hand that wasn't holding the helmet into her hip firmly.

Spock slung one long leg over the machine to straddle it, the close fitting pants and strange leather-hide jacket he wore now made more sense as well. No wonder he'd requested she wear pants for this excursion, she'd just thought maybe he was tired of seeing so much skin all the time from the female cadet uniform

" When I accepted my position as a Starfleet cadet, my mother purchased this hoverbike for me as a gift. She encouraged me to explore Terra with it." He said looking at her with something challenging in his eyes, like he always did when she asked something particularly unexpected to him. He paused looking down contemplating if he should add what was really on his mind; " I had also been loath to leave my previous craft behind on Vulcan." He turned and pressed his palm to the console before him causing the sleeping beast to come to life humming in a clean and efficient manner as it rose away from the ground a hands width.

" You drove a hoverbike on Vulcan?" she was still reeling. It was an overload of information and the images and situations -of Spock being a rebel with the wind blowing in his usually so orderly hair- popping into her mind via one overactive imagination was not helping.

" Yes, although it was of a Vulcan design the mechanics of the vehicle were very much the same." He seemed to be getting a bit exasperated with her disbelief although his tone betrayed nothing to that conclusion, " We must depart shortly, mount the passenger seat," he indicated to the slightly raised portion of leather behind him. Uhura raised an eyebrow at him telling her the Vulcan equivalent of "Hop on!", but did as he said and eased in behind him as he slipped his helmet carefully over his ears. Going to do the same, she paused and sighed heavily, reaching around to dump her helmet in his lap.

"Hold this for a second," she then carefully began rearranging her hair from its customary high ponytail into one that was loose and clasped at her neck instead. Then she took her helmet back, feeling Spock tense minutely and smiled a bit before pulling the snug black cushioned plastic over her own head.

" Okay," She said unsure of what to do next, without turning Spock continued to fiddle with the controls.

" Situate your legs onto the supports behind mine," His voice was clear enough, she figured he had some sort of communication link between the helmets, and she did as he said slipping her feet into the wells for them that pressed her close behind him, her legs bracketing his. She worked to breathe evenly trying to think of the serious matter that was her education and Starfleet and the federation and then wrapped her arms gingerly around his abdomen.

" You have to hold on tighter, Nyota. A secure grip is all that is keeping you anchored." His voice was so calm, unaffected, Uhura made a face and pulled in even tighter. The heat from his body was starting to seep through the combined layers of their clothing and the bike was vibrating minutely under them. She desperately tried to picture Klingons in her head, their food, their language, their teeth–

Spock positioned her hands so she had an optimal grip on her own forearms, his warm fingers gentle and diligent. All too soon his hands were gone and he'd hit another button that pulled them off of the ground significantly. Uhura swallowed a frightened noise that threatened to break out of her chest.

" The ride will be substantial in length. Strain to your neck and shoulders is expected, to lessen the effects pull your hips in and if the stress becomes undue you may rest your head on my person." He said over the electric revving of the motor.

" A-alright," Klingons weren't working anymore, nothing was working anymore, her heart was pounding, he was sure to feel it.

" Do not be afraid," he turned his head slightly, but not enough for her to actually see his visor. And then he cranked one leg and twisted something and they were streaking out of the garage and into the air.

Uhura let out gasp and reflexively held on tighter her eyes squeezed shut her head pressed to his shoulder. There was the sensation of falling and then a gentle bump of air pushing them up and they were gliding forward smoothly if not violently fast.

When she opened her eyes the world was a blur, her hair occasionally whipping around for her to see. She imagined what they must look like, weaving around the slow moving shuttles as they left campus, a humming black blur, her hair streaking out behind them.

Getting used to the sensation of moving so fast she began to appreciate the experience; Spock's lightning fast reflexes pulling them safely around corners and between other vehicles like a flitting butterfly. Uhura laughed joyfully and bit her lips.

" Hey, Spock?" She asked tentatively when they were at an open stretch of road.

" Yes?" he sounded as he always did, like she'd just knocked on his office door and interrupted his marking yet again.

" We have to do this again," She said confidently not expecting any reply.

" While the Conference will only occur annually, I can only assume you mean the traveling experience." He paused for a long time and she sighed a bit disappointedly at his response. She didn't know what she was expecting, a confirmation that this was as enjoyable for him as it is for her, or something…

" There is always the return trip." He spoke softly, a tone lurking around the edges of his words that revealed a teasing edge; one she'd only ever heard when he addressed her. She grinned and rested her head on his shoulder again. Most definitely the best conference she'd ever been to.


	2. Chapter 2

I CONTINUED IT? Yes. I don't even know what's wrong with my brain that I am now attempting to make this a series. Enjoy anyhow :P

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2.

Her legs were stiff when they finally stopped, her bottom ached, but she didn't have any attention to pay to her own ailments at the moment. She reluctantly pulled her arms back, stretching her shoulders and sliding away from the unbelievably welcome warmth she had been molded against.

" The conference will commence shortly." Spock stood, carefully extracting himself from the bike and pulling off his helmet. Uhura watched mesmerized by the way his hair was left in disarray, ever so slightly sweaty at the temples. He looked down at her intently, and she swallowed hard in response.

" Do you require assistance?" he offered her his hand, palm up. She stared down at it with surprise; Vulcans usually didn't encourage hand-to-hand contact, " Cadet Uhura?"

Uhura's head snapped up, he was waiting for her to get off the bike. She pulled her own helmet off hurriedly and slipped off the seat, there was no more room for her to act like this shocked love struck deer in the headlights creature; she had to get a hold of herself.

" I thought I told you to call me Nyota," she leveled her gaze with his as they stood shoulder to shoulder on the curb. He raised an eyebrow at her in what she could have sworn was a mischievous manner before nodding and setting off at a brisk pace down the street. He raised a hand as they walked, straightening his hair in a startlingly casual manner as if he did it all the time.

She tried to remember if she'd ever seen him do it before but couldn't recall. She'd never given him that much thought before, always too focused on the course work rather than the rather unappealing instructor.

He held the large glass door of the hotel hosting the conference open for her in an oddly human gesture. She feared, as she passed him close enough to feel his warmth, that she would never go back to being an oblivious student again.

The uneasy mood that had started the conference has dissipated entirely by the time the first lecture finished. Uhura was too caught up in the theory, the people, the sights and sounds of new languages all around her. It was intoxicating. Spock, despite his chaperone status was the perfect companion for her; advising when she was torn between events, timing their activities so she had the maximum amount of exposure to everything she wanted and generally didn't get in the way.

She was still waxing poetic about the warbling double palate vowels the Xiric people were able to create when they finally got back to the bike.

" Just think, with maybe an inserted upper bridge palate humans and other singular arched species could make those accents! It would be so simple, and the federation could benefit expon-" she her words came to a stop when her eyes landed on the machine waiting for them. She'd put the entire surreal experience of getting there out of her mind for the day. Now she was faced with that terrifying flopping feeling in her stomach that seemed to reject the idea that Spock was something other than an empty hearing and teaching machine that occasionally gave her intelligent feed back.

" Nyota?" her name from his lips… maybe that had been a mistake. It hadn't felt like it at the time but now as she looked at him, really looked…he had brown eyes, so brown and deep and dark but warm she could almost feel it and surely would once she was wrapped around him flying again-

She blinked and cleared her throat, " Sorry, I just… lost my train of thought," she eyed the bike wearily, it was all its fault she'd never have begun thinking of Spock as Spock and not The Commander if it wasn't for its sleek powerful design.

Spock started up the bike without sparing her another glance, and she clutched her helmet watching as he once again straddled the machine. She couldn't let this become a _thing_, not Spock, not the bike, she had to ignore those tantalizing flips her heart was doing, grab some firm control and focus.

She slipped into place behind him without any instruction this time, her helmet fitting just as snuggly as before. She pulled her arms around him tightly, willing herself not the feel, not to think-

He gave her warning as they took off once more, pulling into the high velocity traffic stream. She liked it there, where the world whipped by too fast for her to even contemplate how damaging romantic notions about her commanding officer, instructor, and maybe tentative future friend and colleague could be to her ambitions, career, education…

" You have been uncommonly silent since we began our commute back to campus. Is something bothering you?" Spock asked some ways into their trip. Uhura blinked, his voice in her ears roused her from where her thoughts had drifted and pulled in the wind.

" No. No, just enjoying the ride." She adjusted her grip on her arms and breathed in the plastic smell of the helmet encasing her head, " It's very… exhilarating," she frowned at the word, it didn't fit properly all the emotions and thoughts that were swirling around her head but it would have to do for now.

Her head was against his shoulder again, when had that happened? She forced herself not to jerk away from him, not to react, he'd said it was alright before and so it should be. Now conscious of her own actions and how oppressive the silence was between their breathing she scrabbled for conversation.

" I sort of wish I had my own, you know?" she winced, " Bike that is. It would be useful getting around the city, waiting for the shuttle takes so much time," she was moderately pleased with her resulting statement, coherence for the most part, sensible, _logical_.

" Personalized methods of transportation have equal negative and positive resultant outcomes," he seemed dispassionate on the subject, but she didn't really know… it was amazing how much information you could glean off of a mostly impassive face.

" Well, I wouldn't mind learning how to drive a hoverbike, even if I never own one." She commented absently, " I can imagine going on a long drive would be almost therapeutic," there was a long pause, in which the calm slip slide of the scenery around them proved her point for her.

" Do you require therapy?" he asked finally and she laughed against his shoulder.

" Yes, and no. Everyone requires therapy, Spock. We just do it in different ways. Maybe what I'm saying would relate more to meditation for you?" she knew he meditated, all Vulcans meditate. He was quiet again save for the rustle of his jacket as his back and shoulders move against her in turning the bike.

They were approaching the campus, the tall façade of Cochrane Hall and the arch of the library pushed against the horizon as they zoomed forward. The sky was dappled pinks and oranges as the sun set over the bay, it was a beautiful end to a fascinating day.

" I am able to instruct you on the operation of this vehicle outside of class should you truly wish to learn." He said rather suddenly, catching her off guard enough that it takes a moment to process his words.

Her fingers felt numbed, her heart picked up a new rhythm, her mind spinning over all the connotations that came along with that suggestion, all the angles the idea sprouted in her brain.

Before she can respond, however, they are stopped to pull off their helmets and flash their IDs to gain access into the campus without being redirected to the visitor's entrance. Her mind is made up before they even start moving again, and she spends the rest of the duration of their ride back to the garage trying to futilely reason with herself.

They disembark from the machine, him graceful, her awkward, but eventually she is handing back the helmet that had been her property for the day and looking up into his unusual features.

She swallows hard but sets her weight, tosses her hair over her shoulder and says," I want to learn,"


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing much to say, more Joyride, enjoy :)

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3.

It's one thing to drive – or even sit on- a hoverbike, the wind in your hair, accelerating faster and faster, the hum of the machine beneath you. It's… freeing. Researching hoverbikes, however, is a completely opposing sensation.

She can't believe she wanted Commander Spock, her phonology instructor, the Vulcan, to teach her something outside of curriculum. What was she thinking? She pulled another glossy tome from the shelves at the back of the library.

Oh, that's right, she wasn't thinking. She was too overwhelmed with being whisked away on the wind and the feel of warm leather jackets. Treated to an entire day of exotic languages and of course such brown _brown_ eyes she wasn't in her right mind obviously. She snorted and slammed her book down heedless of the dozen or so heads that shot her glares from the digital media area.

He might have seemed like he was really a normal person under those ears and that haircut, maybe he could have even been funny, _charming_. But then she opened her big mouth and initiated the autodestruct sequence.

To a Vulcan, teaching was serious. It must be thorough, rigorous, well rounded, and it must start with facts. So, she had homework, in a course she wasn't getting credits for, that wasn't furthering her career, and in general was sort of a waste of time.

So why in blue blazes was she doing it? Gaila laughed for ten solid minutes when Uhura had explained why she was rolling out of bed on Saturday to go to the library. That's what she should have done when he sent her the 'assignment', laughed in his face.

But -she sat down and spread out her materials sluggishly- he had seemed genuinely eager? Happy? He had seemed…animated when he offered to tutor her in this area of his expertise. She couldn't say no, well that wasn't true, maybe she just couldn't say no to _him_.

Wasn't that a troubling thought? Her first word was no, and to suddenly have it taken away from her by some dashing male _alien_- who really wasn't all that dashing, maybe endearingly socially awkward- was truly distressing. She loved all her words, and to be missing one…It was a challenge.

Uhuras didn't back down from challenges.

She opened her first book cautiously, 'paper cuts' sounded awful and she didn't want to bother the medical cadets on weekend rotation. They were always so much more snappish and likely to turn small injury into an entire educationally demonstrative physical.

The images inside were beautiful, two dimensional but rendered perfectly in three dimensions. She marveled at the artistic ability of those in the past, it seemed today so many skills were falling by the way-side because of computers. When would her job become obsolete? In ten years? Twenty? One hundred?

She furrowed her brows, pursed her lips and began to take notes on the internal combustion engine. Fossil fuels were so barbaric, what must the Vulcans have thought of the first warp sentient humans? War torn, still destroying their planet bit by bit…they must have been repulsed.

But who really knew what Vulcans thought, their outward displays suggested peace, and a factual, analytical calm. Their inner minds however were supposedly intensely emotionally turbulent. Their most ancient artifacts were weapons, shields painted with exaggerated faces, and clay pots used for bartering that were stained green from the blood they soaked in. Passion and rage seemed a rather far fetched and whimsical folk tale when considering the modern reality that was Commander Spock.

He was collected, cool, intelligent, and aloof. He could talk to computers better than to people and Uhura didn't know why. Vulcans were social hominids just as Humans, thriving on interaction, physical and mental stimulation from others of equal intelligence…so why did they all seem to be so private?

She tapped her stylus against the polished granite tabletop and rested her cheek in her hand. She glanced down at her dry reading materials and rolled her eyes. Really, how could Spock expect her to do research about ancient modes of transportation when she had the much more challenging complex riddle that was decoding and unraveling _him?_

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

He was in his office, in uniform, doing something productive when she stopped by to drop off her report. It seemed silly for her not to think he'd be in the office, but she hadn't actually been expecting him to wave the door open when she requested access, assuming the terminal would decline her entrance and instead offer to deliver anything she left for him.

She stood to straighter attention when she entered the room, feeling a tad self conscious in her civvies when he was so pressed and put together. He sat at his desk and did not get up when she entered the room causing her to have to press toward him. Her boots seemed heavy, clunking as she shuffled forward. They weren't her usual standard uniform. These were low, square toed, with thick rubber soles. Not sexy.

But who cared about sexy? She was dealing with a superior officer, she wasn't in a bar, and she certainly wasn't_supposed_ to look sexy. She fumbled with the chip-drive in her hands, it suddenly felt about ten degrees more awkward in the small grey-walled space.

"Cadet Uhura," she looked up from where her eyes had fallen to her hands, "is there something you require in my office?" He _looked_ sincere, oh sure, he _sounded_ sincere, but there in his eyes, he was mocking her. She didn't like it.

Uhura cocked a hip and took a step forward offering the chip. "I finished the…" she didn't know what to call the impromptu homework Spock had assigned her, it wasn't a project nor real class work, "research, you required me to do,"

He took the chip from her carefully and busied himself with inserting it into console beneath the desk.

"You know, I didn't think there would be homework for these kinds of lessons," She didn't mind he was going to look at her information immediately; it wasn't intimidating, she knew she did her work meticulously and that was all that mattered.

"It was necessary that you familiarize yourself with the concepts and background of the vehicle before attempting its operation." She knew, he had said much the same thing in his first message outlining the requirements she was to fulfill for him to allow her to begin instruction in how to run the hoverbike.

"Of course," she said in a low voice. " Silly me," she added under her breath but he still looked up at her with a sharp, disapproving expression anyway. It was moments like this one that made her so confused, one minute he was Spock and she was forgetting all about rank and just giving him a piece of her mind and the next he was the Commander, glaring at her like she was just talking in one of his lectures.

"Very well. Your basic background of the vehicle is satisfactorily presented."

He removed the chip and offered it back to her, "I suggest you review it frequently between now and our next meeting. There will be a test of your retained knowledge."

A quiz, great, that definitely improves the mood.

"And our next meeting will be?" Her fingers plucked up the chip and stored it in her pocket without looking at him. She couldn't, not now, she was afraid of what she might see, or maybe not see in his eyes.

"I will contact you when a suitable time slot becomes available. As it is still the beginning of term my office hours are not yet solidified. I will also require a copy of your timetable as to schedule around your classes and any extra curricular programs you may be involved in." She nodded and he stood while she prepared to leave.

"Cadet..."

she looked up at him properly on reflex and froze. A spike of heat whipped through her core when their eyes met. He looked…intense, like he wanted to say something he didn't know quite how to phrase. Her heart quickened its beat of it's own accord while her mind warned her how inappropriate her reaction to him was, how easily he could crush her promising career as well as her spirits.

"In future these meetings shall be conducted at another predetermined venue off campus." She swallowed, right, wouldn't want anyone thinking they were up to anything other than the perfectly sound exchange of knowledge that was really taking place.

"Of course," she gave a small smile unable to attempt anything larger, thinking how intimidating it was to smile at a passive, almost disapproving blank face. Besides, inviting more emotion into her already complicated feelings about Spock was just…about as unnecessary as extra-curricular, one on one hoverbike lessons.

For some reason she couldn't control herself when confronted with either of them. She sighed to herself as his office door slid shut behind her.

"What are you doing?" she moaned quietly to herself starting down the hall, pressing a hand to her forehead, " Get a hold a yourself, girl," she scolded herself as she pushed a few stray hairs behind her ear, took a deep breath and strode away with new resolve.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this update took so long, there were some technical difficulties and much mental flailing and fatiguing on my part for this chapter.

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4.

"So, what? You've got class twice a week with him?" Gaila was lounged across her bed painting her toenails with frightening concentration. Unfortunately for Uhura her roommate had been in the room when she'd received Spock's message notifying her of the time and place of their next engagement. Normally the Orion wouldn't have cared about her e-mail but apparently Uhura had reacted 'weirdly' when reading it.

"Yeah," Uhura didn't look up from her Kinetic-Lingustics research, " Something like that." She pushed her hair out of her face trying out the wrist rolls depicted in her text, trying to get them to snap just so, to indicate peace and not danger. She was working on a paper to be submitted for extra credit that integrated the information she'd learned at the conference…with Spock.

"I don't know how you can stand it," She muttered darkly into one kelly-green knee, " Vulcans are…" there was a huff of breath that didn't sound like it was meant to be drying her nail polish.

"Vulcans are what? They're just different, like every species in the universe. Different." Uhura frowned looking at the text's flashing changing diagram and then her hand. It didn't look right, " I thought you liked _differences_,"

"Yes," Gaila flopped back and wriggled her toes to dry them, " But Vulcans just…" she wrinkled her nose, " They just rub the wrong way. They are not natural. They fight their biological programming and as a result they're…they are riddled with faulty code," she nodded triumphantly.

"You need to stop relating everything to computers. Vulcans are not computers, Commander Spock is not a computer, he's a living being and I can stand him just fine," she mused scrolling back to check if she'd missed anything in the directions on how to hold one's wrist.

"Well obviously. If you can stand to be around a Vulcan for longer than absolutely necessary… you're going to make an exceptional communications officer," Gaila now finished with her nails grabbed her own PADD to set up her homework.

"Thank you." Uhura looked up at last deciding it was high time for a break, "So, you just don't like all Vulcans? Is this a Gaila thing or an Orion thing?"

"A bit of both." She shrugged obviously unwilling to commit to any sort of prejudice she may possess. No matter how peaceful the federation proclaimed to be, sometimes interplanetary antagonism was just too old, too biological to smudge away with negotiations and treaties. Orions and Vulcans were the very least of the problems they potentially had.

Gaila shifted again onto her belly, her head and shoulders propped up by her elbows, facing Uhura where she sat at her small desk, " So what's in these lessons for you?" She asked without looking very interested; instead still reading something upon her viewscreen.

"What do you mean?" Uhura turned back to her work, straightening consoles and picking her stylus up to twirl it through her fingers, " I told you, he's teaching me how to drive a hoverbike."

Gaila lowered her PADD and raised one eyebrow. " Right. Okay, lets say I believe that Commander Spock can actually drive a hovering motor vehicle, and has offered you these lessons," Uhura frowned, Gaila insisted hard evidence was needed before she believed that Spock could actually drive and own a hoverbike- then again, it had only been a few short weeks ago that Uhura would have scoffed at anyone who suggested it as well.

"So lets say I believe all that," She spread her fingers widely, their pads the colour of green grapes, " Why did you agree? You've already got a full course load, and you _don't_ need to know how to drive a hoverbike." She said flatly, " So what is _Nyota_ getting out of this deal?" She pressed her hands together and tapped them against her pursed lips in thought.

"First, it's not a deal, I'm not offering him anything back," Uhura crossed her legs uncomfortably, what was Gaila getting at? Couldn't she just do something spontaneous because she wanted to? " And it was fun when we went to the conference, I just want to do it again." She said with a shake of her head, that sounded fine, truthful even, she did want to feel the exhilaration of the ride again.

"You want to ride on a potentially lethal piece of heavy machinery mostly associated with law enforcement, or you want to go on a pseudo date with a Vulcan again?" Gaila looked unimpressed and Uhura pressed her lips together in frustration.

"It wasn't a pseudo date, he was chaperoning. Also, the hoverbike was fun, and more people have them than law enforcement." Gaila didn't look convinced.

"Women?" Uhura cringed inwardly, no not to many women liked things like hoverbikes. Not that that completely wiped out the female market, it was just a general trend, the bikes are fast, sleek, named after women and aimed for male purchasers. The pure mechanics of operating the bike, the need to push the boundaries of speed and physicality... the whole thing was a bit reminiscent of why there was such a lack of female pilots in the fleet. The adrenaline fueled need for speed just didn't seem to affect the double exes the same way. Uhura had mused the point multiple times in the past few weeks. Why weren't there more women taking advantage of this mode of transportation? Maybe it was a lack of general targeting, a missed market.

Their loss. Uhura wasn't going to let a bit of fluffy stereotype get in her way.

"Point? Have I ever been anything other than exceptional?" she asked primly causing Gaila to laugh and sigh.

"You're right I guess. You are weird… hanging out with _Vulcans_," she scoffed and made an exaggerated face. Uhura blew a raspberry and threw her stylus at her in retaliation. Who needed roommates anyway?

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

She received a second missive from Spock a few hours before their latest lesson was scheduled to take place. She was in the largest lecture theater for Xenobiology 202 when the notification beeped that she had a new message. There were only fifteen minutes left in class, the lecture winding down in revision of what they had covered so Uhura discreetly accepted and opened the communiqué.

Weary of others reading who the message was so clearly from she covered it with her arm and scanned his words frowning at what she found.

_Cadet Uhura,_

_An unforeseen engagement requires my presence at our previously scheduled time of meeting. Alternately I propose a new time of rendezvous in the same location at 1300 hours._

Uhura frowned, that was almost immediately after class! She wouldn't have any time to return to her dorm to change into something more riding appropriate. Either Spock knew and didn't care because they once again would not be encountering the hoverbike, or he wasn't thinking at all. Somehow she figured she wouldn't be seeing the purring metal beast this week.

_If this is to your satisfaction please send reply._

_– Commander Spock_

Uhura sighed down at the simple message and rolled her eyes before tapping out and sending off a reply:

_I'll be there. – N_

She wasn't going to put off whatever new assignment he was going to give her, and she definitely wasn't going to avoid him just because things were confusing and awkward and all sorts of strange on her side.

Now that she had something pressing for her to do straight after class the duration of the instructional time dragged by. Each minute that progressed seemed to be like that of the speed of a glacier. When the instructor finally released the class, they rose as one red wave of cadets talking and stretching edging their way out of the theater style seats.

Elbowing people out of the way and mumbling apologies Uhura checked the time as she stowed her class materials in her bag and pushed out of the wide doors. If she hurried and cut across some grass she might be able to beat him to their meeting spot.

The spot in question was Campbell's Diner on 14th only a few blocks away from campus. When she had expressed wariness of the cliché in 'meeting at an old fashioned diner', Spock had sent her an entire list of reasons why it was an ideal place of meeting and the cliché had obviously been made out of the most basic common logic.

She didn't feel like it was very logical now as she strode in her quickest and most dignified way across the lawns. She waved and smiled to various friends that called out to her but she was on a mission not to be late.

By the time she reached the edge of campus and checked the time she frowned feeling like she had seriously underestimated the time it would take to get to the diner and began to run, giving her skirt a modest tug every once in a while when she felt it migrating up her legs.

Finally she burst into to the diner, leaning her weight heavily on the push door to get it to move, startling when a bell above her head chimed loudly. She swallowed thickly, panting a tad, now all there was to do was straighten up and find a sea-

There appeared to be no need, Spock sat in one of the booths looking unblinkingly at her. Obviously he had already chosen her a seat. She tried to slow her breathing, ignoring the burning in the bottom of her lungs as she discreetly adjusted her sweater and walked as calmly with as much dignity as she could to where he waited.

His attention turned from her to the table, he probably had a PADD or some other work to occupy his wait for her. She pursed her lips as she slid onto the vinyl-covered bench across from him.

"You are early," he said as she eyed the mug resting by his elbow and how he slipped what had indeed been a PADD out of the way. He folded his hands on the table before him.

"I suppose so," She shrugged, "How long have you been here?"

" One hour, three minutes and forty five seconds." Upon her quizzical look he cocked his head back at her, " I too require sustenance to function with full mental and physical capacity,"

"You were having lunch," she nodded and reached for the menu stashed behind the napkin holder by the window, " That actually sounds like a very good idea." Her stomach made its opinion known with a gurgling growl.

"You don't mind if I get something, do you?" She looked up at him from her perusal of the list of dishes, some had pictures that flashed and sparkled. He looked the same as always, _perfect_ as always. She dropped her eyes and clutched the menu a tad tighter.

"On the contrary I scheduled our meeting imminently from your lecture course with the assumption of your inevitable hunger," she hummed flipping the laminate gel sheet over and checking the backside.

"Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you," she furrowed her brows, " What's good here?" It all looked well, like diner food; common, highly caloric, comforting, but in the end not appropriate for everyday consumption. Her nose scrunched as she considered her options. She wasn't expecting to get an answer but Spock pulled the menu out of her hands and gestured down the page.

"The Family Vegetable Lasagna is adequately balanced in nutrition as well as pleasing to the humanoid palate." She scrutinized him for a moment before pressing her order into place and letting Spock put the menu back from where she'd taken it.

"Cadet," he turned his head to look sharply back at her, his tone was all business "It has come to my attention that you do not possess proper validation to learn the operation of any motor vehicle let alone the class 4-B you require for my hoverbike."

Uhura looked at him uncomprehending for a moment. Of course she didn't have a license, she didn't require one for Starfleet as she wasn't training to be a pilot or helmsman, and besides the process of getting one involved learning how to operate the bike.

"You will be required to pass a short government issued exam to gain such a learners permit." He continued, fishing a small standard disposable screen from where he'd stashed it somewhere under the table and slid it across to her. She accepted it flipping it on and scanning the information that was stored within. It appeared to be basic road rules, what certain signs meant, how traffic laws applied in three dimensions, along with a plethora of other motor vehicle related factoids. Overall it looked like really, really dull reading.

"All of the standard information to be memorized is contained within that data storage device." He gestured to what she held now as she flicked it off.

"This shall take the place of the previous planned examination of your cursory knowledge," she looked at him unsure if she should be happy or disheartened by this news. His features gave nothing away, he didn't seem to have much emotional opinion on the matter either.

"Oh," she folded her own hands atop the screen in a mirror of his pose, " Alright, I see where we'd want legality to be on our sides. When and where is the test?" She asked neutrally without any other comments or thoughts on the matter.

"The organization and scheduling I have left at your discretion as you know your study habits and course load requirements far more extensively than what anyone including I could predict. The location of the facility where you may make your appointment and proceed with the testing is credited in the information provided," he nodded his head again to where the screen rested under her hands.

"So no interaction with the bike until I get this?" she asked with a small smile, perhaps a tease lingering about her mouth. Spock's look only darkened.

"Affirmative. It would be wholly inappropriate and potentially dangerous in any other circumstance,"

Their discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Uhura's lasagna, which admittedly did look and smell incredibly appetizing. As she took up her knife and fork she noticed Spock gathering his things and accepting a bill issued to him.

"You aren't staying?" she tried not to sound disappointed although she had hoped he would stay for a while longer. She did have more interesting things to talk about than just their lessons, like how her paper was coming along.

"No. As I informed you before my presence is required elsewhere." He stood, tugging on his jacket to straighten it out. He didn't look very pleased with the situation, disdainful underpinnings in his speech leaking through to the surface. She took the moment to shoot him a cheeky smile.

"Well, have _fun,_"

He merely cocked his head at her, raised an eyebrow and strode to the far counter to settle his bill before leaving. Uhura chuckled to herself pushing the screen out of the way and dug hungrily into her lunch.


	5. Chapter 5

\o/ finally on the bike!

* * *

5.

Uhura looked at the shiny new identification card again. She looked alright in her three dimensional projection, exactly as she remembered looking in the mirror that morning. N. Uhura, Female, hair: black, eyes: brown, height: 165 cm, weight: _none of your business. _

In just a few short hours, she thought, she'd still look just like that, but once again perched atop the humming beast that was Spock's hoverbike. So why, why did she feel so torn about it?

She was trying to get some progress made on her paper, this was the first chance she'd gotten in quite a while to work on it as all her free time had previously be consumed by friends, sleep, homework and studying for her learners test.

The test in question she'd taken that morning. Sitting at a lone terminal in the corner of a small office space, she'd completed it quickly and efficiently. What really took the time was getting all of her personal information into the system and having an accurate holographic image taken.

Now holding the card, twisting it back and forth so her smiling face and complete figure replaced each other in quick succession she couldn't help but feel anxious.

It wasn't just nerves over the bike either. It was the whole concept of the hoverbike lessons, of Spock. She felt shaky, unstable, like she didn't know where she was going or what she was doing anymore. She didn't make split second decisions, and didn't make them because of feelings.

And yet, she had, sitting on the back of that bike, her body pressed to his she had decided she wanted to pursue this. The lessons, Spock, she didn't know which was which anymore. Did the thrill she'd felt really come from the bike, or the warm forbidden man she was with?

She furrowed her brows, twisting the card again, she didn't know.

Was it all just because of some _crush_? The idea that she was playing with her future so carelessly over a few butterflies in her stomach made her heart ache. Who was Nyota Uhura? Was she the kind of person who let their feelings cloud their judgment? Uhura had never thought so, until now that is.

She looked down at her materials around her and the half completed writing that sat waiting for her input on the console before her. She pulled her cheek off her palm, straightening in her seat and tossed the card in the small bin beside her desk used to collect garbage.

She had work to do, real work that was important. _It_ deserved her full attention. There were no new breakthroughs in communications to be made with _any_ Vulcans, half or whole.

She forced the thoughts from her mind, remembering instead the convention the concepts that she'd been introduced to there. She had been the sole recipient of a place for attendance at the convention from Starfleet's cadet population. The honor was great, only the brightest, the future of communications ever got to take time from classes to travel to the main Xenolinguistics conference hosted in various locations around the globe.

Of course part of her enjoyment of the whole event had been the constant conversation. The easy flow of back and forth banter she and Spock seemed to have stumbled upon as soon as the official business airs dropped from the whole situation.

Maybe she was just over-complicating things. Or he was, being unable to separate their lessons from another Starfleet sanctioned course. But she had never actually attended a real lesson… her eyes slid to where the garbage can sat beside her desk.

Drumming her fingers she stared at her empty page for a few more minutes, shifting anxiously in her chair.

Finally with a sigh she leaned over and swiped the card back out of the can and made sure it was still pristinely clean. Then with a scowl she dropped it underneath her largest PADD vowing to not let it interrupt her work again.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

She strolled casually to their meeting place, although she felt anything but casual. She was about to attempt to have a serious on par one on one conversation with Spock, whom she coincidentally happened to harbor inappropriately warm and fuzzy feelings for.

That may or may have not been the reasoning behind her current adornment of her favorite pair of particularly flattering pants. It was for the confidence boost she assured herself mentally taking a few hurried steps across a path to get out of the way of a mini hover-boarder.

She would definitely need her confidence, this was it, the determining lesson. Either they started from scratch just like the first time with the bike just Spock and Nyota or she was done and he was firmly sheltered in the prickly commander corner of her brain never to be brought out in leather fueled fantasies again.

Easier said than done.

She slowed her walk coming upon their meeting place, the street outside Campbell's Diner. He was already there again, sitting astride the bike the black instructor's uniform vanishing for that strangely suitable riding jacket-pant combo.

Uhura stuffed her hands in her pockets coming to stand next to him.

"Alright, lets get started," she said brightly trying to focus on the machine.

"You have acquired the proper validation?" he stayed motionless, staring at her until she fished the card out of her pocket and flashed it back and forth for him.

"I'm legal," she stuffed it back into her inner coat pocket, zipping it up securely. He merely raised an eyebrow at her and began keying the activation sequence into the bike.

"Your first practical lesson will necessitate a suitably large area for maneuverability and free air space." His words sent a thrill up from her gut into her throat, excitement welling up on her tongue, "As such we will need to relocate a distance away from the base and campus." He twisted to offer her the helmet resting behind him while the bike trilled in happy acceptance of his demands.

She took the helmet from him again with a smile, pausing while holding it to watch him slip his on.

"Is there a problem, Nyota?" he flipped his visor up revealing suddenly startlingly clear framed human eyes. She took a moment to take in the sight and the sound of him.

She then shook her head and slipped on her own helmet then, slinging her leg quickly over the back of the bike behind him.

"No," she said firmly pulling in tightly winding her arms tightly around his torso, "Lets go."

On the ride to wherever they were going she noted mentally that he distinguished their working relationship from this one with the use of her first name. She pondered idly if it had something to do with the uniform. If one or both of them was dressed in the fleet's wear he was less likely to let the constant ranking disparity to go unrecognized.

Spock's back shifted with the movement of the bike against her chest, drawing her attention back to the physical present. He seemed tense everywhere like a loaded spring but at the same time a fluid entity. He was calm, controlled and perfectly in tune with the machine. Uhura swallowed down on something resembling giddiness rising in her chest and turned her head instead focusing on the scenery whipping past them.

They appeared to be heading north, their path a low flying coast hugging endeavor. They hadn't been traveling for very long, but already the number of buildings was diminishing as they fled the bustling city.

When they finally did come to a stop it was as Spock pulled them over the boundaries of what was considered the narrow traveling ground and air space. He let the bike coast over a good stretch of turf before it was sailing smoothly on a large flat area of sandy beach.

The ocean was still a great distance away when she pulled her helmet off, the tides low for the moment, the air was crisp and moist as it curled around them whipping her hair around her face and his shoulders.

"This is an ideal location for your first lesson, do not be intimidated by the sand. The air cushion will only compact it and not agitate it. It also provides a somewhat better cushion than dirt or concrete should you fall." Spock pulled his helmet off as well and slipped off of the bike before her.

Uhura consulted the sturdy looking machine in front of her.

"Fall?" She asked skeptically watching as he once again keyed instructions into the machine making it power down quite suddenly leaving her lurching.

"Yes, the tendency to over balance a hover-craft is quite common in beginners," He stepped back from the machine but held a hand up in gesture for her to stay put, "please, activate the machinery."

Uhura slid tentatively into the slightly lower –and deliciously warmed– front seat peering at the controls before her. There was nothing in her previous research and testing that explained what all the gauges, unmarked buttons and even more worryingly cryptically labeled buttons did. Great.

"Don't I," she started off tentatively looking over everything one more time just in case she was missing a large red power button, "need to have a personal identification key?" She asked finally looking up at where he stood just off to her right.

"Correct. Currently the craft will only respond to my commands." He then took a step closer to reach his left hand out hitting a few keys far too quickly for her to memorize making the panel come to life once more. While the computer was active the vehicle wasn't actually running, and now she saw one of the smaller vertical gauges was actually a print scanner.

The small flex-polymer windshield now also doubled as a transparent view display as Spock pulled up a function to include an additional user ID into its memory. She let her right thumb print become scanned and properly cataloged by the computer when indicated and then just sat back and watched as he put everything into order.

She was just beginning to relax and even maybe let herself enjoy his close proximity leaning into her space when he was suddenly pulling away and the machine was dead before her once more.

"Now activate the vehicle." He stood attentively by her side not moving back to where he'd been standing before. Uhura frowned pressing her thumb to the scanner feeling accomplished as it booted up in acceptance of her and sent a greeting message across the screen.

"You have successfully engaged the computer but not the vehicle." The accomplished feeling died swiftly and Uhura shifted slightly in the seat willing to do better, "these controls," he reached before her again to indicate a vertical strip of buttons labeled with different letters, "will indicate an initial setting you wish to put the vehicle into."

He then launched into a full-scale description of most of the controls at her fingertips and a few she hadn't even seen such as those located upon the underside handles of the bike. At the conclusion of his speaking she looked down upon it all with trepidation. One slip and she could mash a dozen controls easily.

"It is much to remember without application," he said in a more relaxed tone. Uhura nodded and tried not to think about how much time she was beginning to spend with Spock that she could identify a relaxed tone from an instructor tone in his always-neutral polite voice.

"Do you desire to continue with the lesson?" he asked taking up his helmet from where he'd set it aside. She leaned back away from the controls for a moment and then nodded.

"Then please don your helmet. While you will not be moving far even a small and relatively slow fall can cause injury." He pulled his on as well, for communication purposes most likely. The communication links between the helmets allowed them to speak clearly to each other over not only the helmets but the engine's sound and a possible distance.

"So what am I doing first?" she asked gazing down at the display and pressing right up to the console with her thighs, reaching out to make sure her grip on the handles was comfortable.

"Low hover and forward propulsion," the words were in her ears, of course, coming through the speakers pressed there but she felt them as well as Spock climbed aboard the passenger seat behind her. She fought whatever squealing emotion was bubbling up in her stomach then of course he was going to be on the bike with her, that was part of the conditions behind her learners permit, a licensed driver must be present at all times. She just hadn't thought that meant physically on the vehicle with her.

Still, the shock and novelty of it made her doubly nervous. She reached out and hit the basic hover control, selecting a low altitude. The bike lurched under them humming a new, she grasped the handles and he pressed his hands to her hips. She felt a mounting urge to start giggling uncontrollably but managed to constrain it to one brief bark of laughter.

"The way you situate your weight upon the vehicle controls the angle of your hover, currently you are shifted forward over the control panel," one of his hands moved up and around her pulling her abdomen up and back making the bike subtly shift along with them, "keep this posture when in two dimensional travel." His hand pulled back, but did not return to her hip instead reaching along her arm.

"To move in a forward direction the vehicle must be set into drive which it currently is as indicated. The first level of speed is defaulted but can be adjusted later with the left hand. For now your right hand controls throttle or acceleration," his arm long as it was could still reach the handles from where he sat.

"Steering is inherent, twisting of the handles in the left or right direction will guide you. If you would let go of the controls for a moment," she let go quickly watching as his hands took her place. She awkwardly pulled her arms in to rest on her thighs.

"A loose but firmly controlled grip is optimal, the torque of the right hand towards you will apply acceleration." He demonstrated revving the bike.

"The release of the clutch," she watched his left hand let go of a lever, "will connect the power to the turbines. As the vehicle is largely digitally controlled you will not need to clutch to shift gears, but will need to engage it as you progress into control of three dimensional travel."

He moved against her, pressing his hips forward slightly moving his legs enough to jostle her feet off of their rests.

"The brake is located in the right pedal." He tapped it once letting her feel the way the bike shuddered in response. She was warm, encased completely by his limbs and the welcoming purr of the bike. It took a moment to focus again, her brain drifting into happy thoughts of leaning back into such a toasty embrace-

"Okay," she was surprised by the sound of her own voice, "I think I can do it." She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to sit there with him so close without concentrating on anything. Eventually she'd make a fool of herself and a mess of the whole situation.

Abruptly all his limbs were back in their appropriate places and she was able to scoot back to where she'd originally been. Taking a hold of the controls she paused trying to calm the flurry of thoughts hurrying back and forth in her mind.

"Hold the clutch all the way in and slowly release it as you apply acceleration. You do not need to travel very far nor quickly. A learning curve is unique to eve-" Spock's calm voice in her mind via head set shushed all the other thoughts gradually.

With tense arms she slowly relaxed the grip on her left and and twisted the throttle back gently- the bike slid forward smoothly, as if she'd just puffed on a toy sail boat in the bath, it glided along the sand.

"Do not forget to steer, Nyota," She looked up with furrowed brow noticing the approaching surf and pushed the bike's handles into a smooth turn…that wasn't so smooth.

"Why isn't it turning?" She asked eyes wide, and slamming the breaks hard enough at their crawling speed that they both slid forward, his chest making full contact with her back.

"A turn is facilitated not only by the steering column but by leaning the body as well. Push your weight to the side you wish to turn, the faster you're moving the more oblique the angle should be. Again."

And so their lesson went, working up speed and turning wide doughnuts over the sand. As she learned she stopped thinking about all the shoulds and shouldn'ts outside of the pure simplicity that was the two of them and the bike. It was like breathing, like flying, like something she couldn't explain in any of the words she knew in any of all the languages.

She was impossibly glad she hadn't thrown away her permit.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

"You may stop the vehicle now." She smoothly applied the brakes so they weren't jolted and awaited new instructions.

"You will have further opportunities to practice but we have no more time for now," He said slipping away and off of the bike leaving her suddenly cold and jostled as the bike bobbed a tad higher without his weight.

"If you would relinquish control, I will bring us back to campus."

Uhura sighed letting her arms drop from where they were outstretched, flexing her tired hands once before pushing back and up to the passenger seat. Then he was back, fingers like lightning compared to her sluggish digits on the controls. The bike reared up as if waking from a lazy nap responding eagerly to new command.

The speed at which they fled the area took her breath away, but she was now so much more in tune to what he was doing, how subtly his body was really shifting to move them so fluidly among the traffic and along the streets. It was a really beautiful thing now that she knew how complex and demanding it really was. Perhaps, she even thought, she'd spend a bit more time talking to helmsmen and navigators in the mandatory training courses.

All too soon the bike was being directed to stop at their meeting place, and Uhura was climbing off the back of the bike with reluctance. She pulled off her helmet as he did his and smiled at the features she hadn't properly seen in hours.

"Do you have any other questions or concerns with the first lesson before we depart?" he asked smoothing his hair with a hand, the gesture making him look younger more human maybe. She shrugged and handed back the helmet.

"Not that I can think of, but I did notice the wind picking up the higher the speed was. Do you think I need to get a special jacket?" she eyed his meaningfully, taking in the comfortably worn sheen of it.

"A riding jacket would be beneficial but not necessary, any sufficient wind breaker would be of the same level of efficiency." He paused like he had on their very first ride together, his head cocking exactly the same manner as if weighing the pros and cons of elaborating on the subject, "I was gifted this particular jacket in accompaniment to the hoverbike. My mother made a confusing comment as to allude to a separate purpose of the jacket having attractive features, although I have noted none," He glanced along the length of one sleeve and then up at her as she chuckled.

"I don't think she meant the jacket. I think she meant _you_." She smiled and shook her head, "thank you for the lesson today. I'll see you in class." She raised her hand in a departing wave and strode off before he had the chance to say anything more.

It took a few moments, but then the familiar purr of the bike crawled up beside her on the street and zoomed past, Spock traveling faster than he had with her in tow, looking for all the world like something entirely too delectable.

"This is going to end badly," she sighed but smiled all the way back to her dorm anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

Grab your pillow and some protein nibs, it might be another long haul before the next update. Thanks for sticking with me everyone!

* * *

6.

Gaila stared at her blankly. Uhura frowned at the jacket she held in front of her, pressing it up against her front again in confusion.

"What, you don't think it's cute?" She asked, wondering when from the trip to the leather boutique mid town to the dorm, that her jacket suddenly became so unattractive. It looked fine to her…

"I-is that made from…another animal?" Gaila sat down on her bed heavily, swallowing hard.

"It's leather." Uhura stroked the buttery softness of it, "I think it's real… it could be synthetic." She turned it around to check the label while Gaila made a small noise in the back of her throat.

"Why have you brought this here?" She looked angrier than Uhura had ever seen her. It didn't make any sense, Gaila loved Terran clothing!

"It's my new riding jacket! I don't care what you say, I think it looks nice." She shrugged it on once again pulling the metal zip and fingering the snap at the top.

"Nice? You are encased in _another animal_ Nyota. A cow! A cow that was once a calf, had thoughts, ate, drank, and lived!" She pulled her legs up onto the bed with her, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"What- Gaila, I know it was a cow. I don't understand why you're freaking out, you've had beef before, and besides look at all our shoes. You don't think those are leather?" She caressed her sleeve again admiring its sheen.

"No. I _tried_ beef. It was repulsive. Regulation boots are synthetic, and so are our shoes or at least all of mine are." She frowned down at where Uhura's boots sat innocently lining her bed.

"Well what do you want me to do?" she asked with her hands on her hips, "Take it back? I need a riding jacket."

"Yes! Yes take it back to whatever shop of horrors you got it from. I'll make sure you get your riding jacket, a much better one. Much better." Gaila nodded already bounding over to her main terminal to access informational logs on jackets.

"Fine, because it bothers you so much." Uhura took the jacket off and folded it back into its box, "But this means if I get rid of all my leather goods you have to do something for me." She looked up at where Gaila waved a hand over her shoulder dismissively.

" I mean it Gaila. No more bringing guys back to the room. It's against regulations and it makes me incredibly uncomfortable." she said shutting the box firmly with a snap.

"Fine," Gaila turned, "I promise." She rolled her eyes and slouched in her chair dejectedly. The persistent slump of her shoulders signaled Uhura that her roommate was being sincere. She would try to obey her request and that was enough for now.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

"You submitted my paper where?" Uhura gaped down at Lieutenant Commander Torre where the petite woman was sifting through the work on her desk.

"It was an astonishingly insightful approach to communication with non humanoid sentient species, Uhura. It deserved a chance at more than just an A and the talk of the linguistics water cooler for the month," she said gathering her class' papers nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just sent off Uhura's school paper to the largest Xenolinguistics periodical this side of the Alpha quadrant. Uhura hadn't expected it to exchange hands more than a half dozen times, she didn't want her name to be on the lips of all those editors yet! Not until she was sure, so sure she could feel it in her _teeth_ that she was on to a big thing.

"Frankly," The Lieutenant Commander continued, pursing her lips, "I'm surprised you got so much out of that conference. A fresh pair of eyes, or ears in this case, is all it takes I guess." She pulled dark hair out of her face and assessed Uhura with crinkling eyes.

"Speaking of ears, I hope Commander Spock was alright. He's not the most personable being, not that I blame him but he doesn't seem to do very well in crowds." She mused cocking her head up at Uhura.

Uhura shook her head; Spock hadn't seemed uncomfortable at all. Maybe to someone who wasn't born and trained for communications he'd been a bit standoff-ish but she saw through that easily enough.

"He was the junior most communications staff member, shiny rank stripes or no, he had to do some grunt work. It didn't impede the experience at all did it?" She looked genuinely concerned but Uhura just shook her head again with a smile.

"No, he was actually very useful. I enjoy his company." She chose her words carefully. It was true she did enjoy the Commander's company… even if it was a bit too much.

"I bet it's not just his company you're enjoying." Torre smiled knowingly. Uhura continued to smile but furrowed her brows in polite confusion, she was sure the Lieutenant Commander didn't know anything about her feelings, it was impossible unless she was being completely transparent.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"You know. Maybe the Vulcan thing puts off some people but we're communications officers and women first, Uhura; and you can't tell me you don't appreciate the male form in all its variations, especially that one." She waved a PADD as she spoke, thrusting it forward as if gesturing towards an absent Spock.

"Oh, he's- he's my phonology instructor. I don't–" Uhura frowned trying to think of some way she could wriggle out of the room and the conversation that didn't involve any way Spock might hear vicariously of her attraction to him.

"It's alright, maybe he's just not your type. Probably for the best, hm? I hear he's betrothed or something anyway." Torre smiled absently her eyes glazing over for a moment before perking back up. "Well, back to business. Uhura there's no turning back on that paper now, just sit tight," she said firmly with a knowing smile and left Uhura reeling in her office.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

"You are distracted." Spock's familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked towards him and smiled apologetically. Her rumbling empty stomach had postponed their lesson, and instead of setting off immediately, like they had on previous occasions, they stepped into the diner for a bite to eat. Spock held his mug of tea –traditional earl grey with milk- loosely, watching her with sharp eyes as she picked at her food.

"Yes, sorry. There's just a lot on my mind." She didn't want to burden him with listening to her, she had an appropriate officer advisor for that. She tried to muster up a bit more enthusiasm for eating, turning back to her plate.

"You are concerned about your paper being submitted to the Aielurin Sol Rotational," he said without question. Uhura looked at him with confusion.

"How did you know about that?"

"While I do not participate in the spreading of gossip, I do have the ability to absorb excess information in the faculty lounges," he said almost wryly. Uhura laughed while Spock took a deep sip from his tea. "Your paper is being circulated quite extensively."

"Have you read it?" She paused, for once meeting his eyes directly and holding, completely focused on his answer.

"No. But I do have a copy of it and intend to do so when available." He finished the last of his drink, pulling the mug away to reveal a sliver of green tongue drying excess moisture from his lips. "If you are finished with your meal it would be advantageous to leave now," he said oblivious of her gaze on his mouth, instead scanning the large panel windows for air traffic.

"Yes, alright." She blinked and pushed her plate aside laying down a few credits and a tip before following Spock out to where the bike sat waiting.

Spock started up the machine while she shrugged on her jacket, shaking her head at the lengths Gaila had gone to procure her a non-leather, leather jacket, in red ("It's so obviously your colour, Nyota!"). As she finished zipping and snapping she looked up and noted Spock watching her, eyes taking in her new jacket. Was that expression the equivalent of a Vulcan compliment?

"You forgot a snap." He pointed out towards the bottom where the jacket's flap gaped open. She stiffened and smiled tightly, closing the fastening as quickly as possible.

The ride to the beach seemed to fly by, her thoughts plentiful enough to crowd for room in her mind and jostle for priority. She was absently glad touch telepathy required skin to skin contact and therefore Spock wasn't picking up on every little stray thought, concern, and fantasy as she held tightly to him through a steep turn.

When they were finally at their destination Spock once again disembarked allowing her to take the drivers position. Instead of getting into position behind her however this time he pulled off his helmet and held hers steady as he fixed something to the side.

"You will be working through the maneuvers we practiced in the previous lesson alone today. I will still be able to communicate with you through your com link even when out of visual range."

"You aren't coming? What if I crash?" A panic surged through her. She was not ready for this, and what about the rules– wasn't this in violation? Didn't she always need a licensed driver with her?

"You must learn to maneuver on your own as well as recognize the change in handling of the vehicle without additional weight onboard. I believe you possess sufficient skills and intelligence to prevent yourself from crashing," he said into his communicator checking all the dash settings were in their appropriate positions.

"Remember to lean into your turns and do not go further than the fisherman's pier." He then stepped back and looked to her expectantly. Swallowing dryly, she turned back to the controls grasping the handles and resting her booted feet lightly on the pedals.

"If you do not remember-"

"I remember."

Spock's voice was calm, patient but as good as a challenge. Uhuras don't back down from challenges. She turned the throttle feeling the purr of the machine under her body. She slowly released the clutch and was off, adjusting her posture so the bike slid along parallel with the ground.

"Increase your speed." Spock's somewhat disembodied voice told her and she hesitantly obeyed, watching the numbers on the meter in the corner of the display increase by ten. It continued that way, him directing her to turn now, speed up, slow down, correcting her posture and testing her reflexes.

It was surprisingly fun to drive the bike completely on her own. Her weight alone on the craft made the controls delicate, responding to the lightest of her touches instead of needing a firm hand for a larger load. She completed tight figure eights and raced across the beach so fast even the compact sand whipped up in twin lines trailing behind her.

After what seemed like far too short a time Spock called her back to where he had been watching, standing with one arm folded across his chest, the other holding the communicator loosely near his mouth.

Coming to a stop before him she pulled off her helmet and grinned widely.

"I take it you have gotten over your apprehension of piloting solo?" he asked snapping his communicator closed and pocketing it before taking up his helmet.

"For now." She scooted back to make room for him, "I don't know what future lessons are going to entail." He grasped the handles as she leaned back, allowing room for his leg to cross over in front of her. She smiled as he became situated comfortably.

"You shall deal with obstacles of ground travel first and then progress into three dimensional control and maneuvering. After that an introduction into traffic laws and regulations would be appropriate." He keyed up the necessary settings and they rose into the air. Uhura pulled her arms tightly around him.

"Thank you for teaching me this," she said quietly recognizing the effort he was putting into this relatively profitless job.

"You are welcome Nyota. I must admit I have been enjoying our lessons." Uhura blinked what was he saying? Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "It has been quite some time since I last used this vehicle so extensively." She looked guiltily down at the purring black machine beneath them.

"Oh. I thought you said you used it to explore all over Earth?" She tried to keep the mutter from her voice as she succumbed to pressing her helmeted cheek to his shoulder. She didn't feel so bad making conversation while he was concentrating on driving, they were regularly hovering at a stand still in the evening traffic.

"When I was a Cadet in the Academy," he said without offering any more explanation as they started moving again. Uhura smiled and tried to think of a younger Spock in the scratchy red uniform she regularly donned.

The thoughts were enough to occupy her mind so completely that when they finally touched back down at the diner it took her several moments to lean back, stretch out her shoulders and provide Spock enough room to move.

"Another lesson another day hm? You'll let me know?" she asked, lethargically handing her helmet over with a smile.

"Yes. I will contact you with the information regarding our next lesson and my opinion with regards to your paper." Uhura blinked, _her paper._

"Oh-"

"I hope you do not take offense but I must cut our goodbye short- the traffic was unexpectedly heavy and his significantly delayed my arrival to an evening tutorial." He was already starting up the bike once more and signaling to pull back into the stream of traffic.

Uhura shook her head with a smile as she watched him shoot off down the street.

"Goodbye…"


	7. Chapter 7

A new chapter yay!

* * *

7.

Uhura frowned down at her PADD. She had just come out of an incredibly long and boring interspecies ethics lecture and was walking back to her dorm when she'd received a new message.

It was from Spock, not unusual, he said he'd message her- but what was strange was the content. No lesson this week, and nothing about her paper. It was completely the opposite of what he said he'd do.

Had her paper been so bad that he didn't even want to be near her? So bad he didn't want to tell her, even in an electronic text message? She paused for a moment and shook her head. No, no way. Spock was the king of constructive criticism; if her paper was that unfounded he would have sent her a novel outlining counter arguments. Besides, if it was being shipped off to the periodical of her dreams as a _necessity_, not a desire, it had to be leading to something…right?

She spent the rest of her walk looking down at the note, trying to decipher any underlying meanings. The word arrangement in his sentence structure felt uncomfortable, as if he wasn't happy about canceling - what was he really thinking? Keying the code to her dorm she shrugged. At least it wasn't _her_ driving him off, but then, what was?

They seemed to have a fairly good foundation for a friendship…maybe she could coax whatever was bothering him to the surface. She set the PADD aside and began taking off her uniform lost in thought. Gaila would be busy for the rest of the afternoon at least, creating a silence in their shared room, peaceful but creepy.

At least the absence of her roommate gave her the chance to catch up on some reading, video conference home, and perhaps outline her plan of attack with Spock without being bombarded with bouncy green questions.

Perhaps with enough time, a piece of pie and a trusted ear Spock would shed some light on his other obligations. It could just be another particularly annoying student asking for tutoring outside of classes, but she had to find out.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

When they finally did get around to that lesson he was waiting for her outside the diner. Already saddled on the bike, he didn't take his helmet off to greet her. He was definitely in a mood of sorts and she immediately felt guilty for what she'd had planned. Who was she to try and pry information from him, something could be seriously upsetting him…like perhaps a death in his family. She winced to herself picking up her helmet and slipping it on as she got onto the vehicle behind him.

He felt tense beneath his jacket and for the first time since their initial ride she was tentative to wrap her arms as tightly around him as he'd first shown her. She didn't say anything as they took off, and the tension escalated ever higher and higher as they accumulated speed.

He took a sharp corner, flinging their weight to the side. Uhura yelped feeling her tentative grip break. Heart pounding in that split second, her whole body shifted back, one arm flinging loose, her thigh dragging over the seat as she was about to be tossed- And then a large hand had her forearm and she was being pulled back in. She gasped pulling her other arm in tightly to wrap around her own wrist crowding fearfully against Spock's back, panting.

"Hold on _tightly_." His voice crackled over the connection in her helmet. He removed his hand from her arm and returned it to its handle.

"S-sorry." She closed her eyes tightly; this was not how this lesson was supposed to go at all. She was supposed to be well on her way to becoming his friend, nodding sympathetically to his woes as they shared coffee and pie.

She barely noticed how the time had passed, but they were already at the training grounds and gliding to a stop. She reluctantly let go of her astonishingly tight grip around him and took off her helmet when he did his.

"You have forgotten the most important rule of two person commute on a non enclosed aircraft." He slipped off the bike to stand before her, lips practically pursed with annoyance or anger or whatever it was that was making his eyes flash like they were. She steeled her own expression, it wasn't her fault.

"I'm sorry, but you weren't exactly projecting approachability. And I didn't think-"

" Correct. You did not think. Your emotions clouded your judgment-"

"Hey! I wasn't the only one being emotional back there. You've never driven that recklessly before. You canceled that lesson and you didn't say anything about my paper and now this…" she deflated realizing it was all coming out anyway she might as well stick to her original plan. " Are you okay?"

"I am fine. I do not wish to discuss the reasoning behind my cancellation with you." He approached the bike where she still sat perched atop it and unclasped a large bag that had been saddled to the side, "Continue your practice with maneuvering. I shall set up the necessary apparatus for the lesson," he turned on his heel marching out across the sand while she sat frustrated and feeling blown off.

"Fine." She muttered as she stuffed her helmet back on, "Just fine." She fired up the engine of the bike and released the clutch with a roar, taking off down the beach narrowly missing hitting his dumb Vulcan behind as she passed.

"Good going Nyota," she whispered to herself. "Great attempt at being a friend, really, because he needs _you_ a sniveling stupid little student poking into his business." She grit her teeth and did a few sharp turns. Wishing she knew three-dimensional travel already so she could soar through the air, weightless, thoughtless and finally free, she settled for doing a dozen figure eights at increasingly fast speeds.

"The lesson is ready." Spock's voice interrupted her focus and she blinked, he didn't sound so tense now, and she didn't feel so useless. She meandered her way back to where Spock was a small dot in the distance and stumbled upon what looked like a complicated obstacle course, with small hovering pylons and large strips of something metallic on the ground.

When she came to a stop beside him, he reached over the control panel and deactivated the thrusters, leaving her hovering. She pulled off her helmet to hold while he gave his lesson. Spock took a step back from her, pulling his arms behind his back, looking relaxed for the first time that day.

"I must apologize for my earlier behavior. It was…emotional and unnecessary. I put your safety as well as my own in danger, and while unforgivable in nature I shall endeavor to never do so again," he said, sounding as chagrin as Unura imagined him able. She shook her head.

"Lets just forget about it. I should have known better, we're both at fault." She gave him a weary smile and received a nod in return.

"As you wish. Today's lesson, as you can see, are obstacles. If you would disembark I shall begin with a demonstration." He gestured for her to hop off waiting patiently before he resumed her place. Instead of pulling on his helmet and firing up the thrusters however he merely sat.

"The first thing you need to always be aware of with obstacles is the balance of the vehicle's air cushion beneath you. While it feels stable you have already learned it can be quite volatile. This can be your asset in the correct situation." He did not grasp the handles, merely rested his hands upon his thighs.

"With the correct application of force," He rolled his hips sinuously– Uhura almost choked on her saliva. The bike bucked under him in imitation of his movement, "You may assume a level of control detailed enough to avoid the smallest of obstacles."

He began to outline the different ways you could rock the vehicle, basic leans and holds that would keep her stable while riding. Mostly she watched in a daze as he moved and gestured to his various muscle groups doing all the work with his weight. Finally he sat properly in the seat again firing up the thrusters.

"I shall demonstrate how these maneuvers will be used in tandem with piloting." He waited for her nod of understanding. She blinked and bobbed her head taking a step back as he slipped his helmet on and grasped the handles.

He directed the bike forwards and around to what Uhura assumed was the start of the obstacle course. He paused then and she watched as what she'd assumed were just strips of metal began to unfold into a series of new obstacles including large spikes, something that glowed menacingly and what looked like a nul-gravity field by the way the sand around it started to float.

She had barely managed to take it all in when he finally shot off like a rocket, his posture different on the bike, weight balanced precariously, feet planted on the posts, thighs tensed. She proceeded to watch with wide eyes as he swerved and leaned slid, spun, and at one point even managing to press down and _jump_ the bike over his various obstacles. When finished he relaxed back into a regular sitting ride and came to a stop beside her.

"You will complete this course," were the first words he spoke after removing his helmet. Uhura looked blankly into his eyes for a moment and then sputtered a laugh waving her hand to dismiss and potential offense he might take.

"Are you serious?" She chuckled watching him dismount, "All that stuff-" she looked back over the obstacles, "There's no way-"

"You will learn. It is not as difficult as it looks." He held out her helmet to her and they stood there looking at each other for probably far too long before she shrugged.

"_You are_ the instructor," she smiled and shrugged trying to downplay her insecurity. She was never going to be able to do all of that. Once saddled up she guided the bike to where Spock had started and looked to him for instructions. He stood beside the bike with his comm in hand so she could hear him properly through the helmet.

"I will guide your initial run through by hand. We will only get through half of the course." He began to walk, "Please follow at the same pace," he intoned into the mouthpiece and Uhura was quick to follow him pulling the throttle back.

The first obstacles were hovering bumpers of sorts in completely inconvenient places requiring her to turn the bike tightly and almost vertically to get past.

"You must use the strength in your legs to push the cushion in the direction you wish the body of the vehicle to reject, holding your core steady as not to lose control." He pointed to the posts that she stretched her feet to and then stood upon, making the bike quiver under her.

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough…" She grit her teeth pushing down; it had looked so _effortless_ for him. She huffed and sat down.

"The circumference of your thigh indicates your quadriceps are within the necessary stress range - try again, faster." Uhura pursed her lips but did as he said standing and pushing hard and fast, crowing quietly with joy as she passed the first bumper.

"Again…" Spock was already onto the next task, pushing her to for the first time really physically exert herself. She did not have an easy time, struggling with holding her weight steady and keeping her direction in line. It was more difficult than she'd imagined. For the first time she flirted with regretting these lessons. Her thighs burned and arms ached, but Spock growing impatient with her fatigue started becoming more hands on in her tutorial. He repositioned the angle of her torso and poked the muscles she was not using to their complete efficiency. The thought of regrets washed away embarrassingly quickly after that.

When they reached their stopping point for the day Uhura tiredly chucked her helmet and flopped back on the seat of the bike allowing her hair to slide in its tied bunch over the back end of the seat wherever it pleased but Spock was already moving it aside and back over her shoulder with two fingers.

"Do not allow your hair to become caught in the flight mechanisms," he sounded neutral, calm and slightly chiding but she was tired and not thinking about her hair of all things right at that moment.

"Right, don't want to seriously mess up your bike," she sighed, stretching her legs awkwardly as he gathered up the obstacles back into their bag.

"I am more concerned for your well being than that of the machine." Uhura winced, she hadn't meant that he wasn't concerned about her necessarily-

"If you believe my actions have illuminated personality flaws, or that I am unconcerned for your safety, I remind you that you may decline lessons and my company at any point. I will respectfully accept your decision." He said without looking at her and she sat up with a frown.

"Spock, no, I didn't mean it like that." She huffed, resting her elbows on one of the handlebars. "You're just…distracted, I guess," he slowed in his packing of the bag and made his way over to her.

"Distracted. Vulcans do not become distracted." She frowned but nodded and felt dumb, like she'd unintentionally insulted him again, "But I am not wholly Vulcan," he paused, eyes dropping to some unknown point in space.

"I do not wish you to think your concern, your friendship nor yourself as 'stupid' because of anything I have said or done."

Uhura pulled back with a confused frown, she had said that to herself. "I was setting the communicator frequency as you began your ride."

She squared her shoulders, mulling over how to handle this situation and came up merely grateful she hadn't said anything else aloud to herself.

"I…was just frustrated with my inability to help." She turned her head and looked him over, "Your cancellation message held all the indicators of distress and unhappiness."

Spock finished strapping the bag of obstacles to the back of the bike.

"My parents are in the city," he said at last, " My mother has been pressing upon the already…strained relationship between my father and I. She does not take no for an answer."

"Oh." Uhura had never actually expected him to so readily tell her what was going on and now reeled for something useful to say.

"There are also numerous other obligations and professional functions that I must attend to as well at this time that cannot be canceled. Your lessons, while important, are categorically leisure time spent and are the most logical to reschedule." He cocked his head a moment, thinking, " I have not yet had the chance to read your paper and that is why I was unable to comment upon it."

"Oh, well…those are certainly good reasons to reschedule," she nodded hesitantly, " Completely rational stress factors." She noted sliding back on the seat while he took his place before her, resetting the controls for regular flight. She marveled for a moment that he actually trusted her with this information and let her joviality fill her up to brimming. They both pulled on their helmets and Uhura smiled for a moment.

"Your mom sounds like mine. She chased me around all last summer trying to get me to eat something 'You are too skinny Nyota! Look, I could snap your bones with one finger!'" She imitated her mother's accent as she wound her arms tightly around Spock's middle.

"They do sound alike. While I was a cadet my mother was also entirely too preoccupied with my weight…"

They exchanged amusing stories for the rest of the ride, Uhura grinning secretly as she felt him shudder under her in what could only be accurately interpreted as a laugh when she regaled her epic adventures of a ten year old trying to set free the family goat.

What had started off rocky had turned into the start of something good, very _very _good.


	8. Chapter 8

Two chapters in one month? Bizarre!

* * *

8.

"Go on without me."

"Uhura." Gaila stopped impatiently two steps above. They were going to the library, but Uhura had seriously misjudged how sore her legs were after her last lesson with Spock. Her thighs burned with every raise and press of her leg. Now, half way up the large set of concrete steps that lead to the library, she was admitting defeat.

"I'm serious, leave me, save yourself!" Bending and clutching her thighs, she squinted up at her roommate.

"What's wrong with you?" Gaila tromped back down to her and hooked their arms together, dragging a whimper from Uhura as they began to climb again.

"My thighs are killing me. Lessons with Commander Spock were a bit rough this week," she hissed, feet clumsy on the steps.

"Your thighs? Aren't your lessons about learning to ride a hoverbike? They haven't changed into learning to ride a Vulcan?"

"Gaila!" Uhura tugged her arm out of the tight grip and used it to lightly smack Gaila with annoyance on the shoulder.

"It's a legitimate question. You like him." Her tone was flat and she kept her eyes on the approaching doors of the library. Uhura shrugged, continuing to plod on despite her legs' obvious protest.

"Yes. I do like him. I think we're becoming friends." Gaila turned her head and gave her an impatient look.

"I mean you have feelings of a–" She paused, "_Romantic_ nature toward him." Uhura frowned down at her boots.

"That…may be so…but he's still a superior officer. I'd much rather be his friend than have myself suspended indefinitely and to have his rank stripped." She turned to Galia halting their movement.

"I know you don't like him very much, but I really need for this to stay between us, okay?"

Gaila smiled her acknowledgement.

"It won't leave the steps." She grinned and gestured for Uhura to look, they were at the top at last, "I am very adept with distraction techniques."

Uhura laughed, there was no better distraction for her mind these days than anything involving her hoverbike lessons, particularly the instructor. She hooked their arms together once more and marched forward and into the library at long last.

"So how _did_ you hurt your thighs?"

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

The stiffness lingered uncomfortably in her muscles for almost two days. Even after that her thighs still twinged when she climbed stairs. Contemplating her belittled strength as she looked down at her legs one morning, she decided it was high time to hit the gym and perhaps work up a little stamina before her next lesson.

That was how Uhura found herself in her grey Starfleet tee and blue shorts contemplating the main gymnasium for the first time without the intention of going to hand to hand combat class. Usually when she was feeling sluggish she just went for a run around campus, but what she needed now required machinery.

There were many cadets and officers strewn about in the expansive exercise facility, working out in their free time or practicing their combat on the mats. There weren't separate facilities for ranking officers and cadets, as Starfleet always aimed to foster team environments, and the gym was the perfect high traffic social arena.

Taking a bench near where a few cadets were wrestling in their similar blue and grey attire, she began to pull on her socks and lace up her running shoes.

It took a few minutes with all their turning and twisting but eventually she recognized one of the cadets in the sparring pair before her as the pitiful bar fly she'd met in Riverside last summer. Who was holding him in a half nelson and attempting to pin both his shoulders to the mat however eluded her.

As she stood the cadet- Kirk made an incredible racket as he somehow managed to get his legs into play and squeezed the other man's ribs while he untangled their arms and finally pinned his opponent to the mat with a triumphant thump.

"Aha I got you again, Bones." He grinned down at his huffing companion.

"Yeah, yeah. You've got a fair bit more practice getting out of a beating as I recall."

Uhura laughed quietly at that, irony always had a way of getting to her. The sound drew both of their attentions and it was clear the cadet recognized her.

"You!" He clambered off of his partner before pausing to help him up as well. His companion was clearly older than them both by quite a few years and obviously appreciated the extended hand up.

"You." She drawled simply, turning with the intention of leaving them both to start on her warm up run around the track.

"Uhura, right?" She paused and turned back to them, "I didn't get that first name of yours you know."

"And you won't," she assured him with a sweet smile.

"Lies. Uhura, I'd like to introduce my wheezy friend here, Leonard McCoy. Bones, Cadet Mystery Name Uhura."

McCoy stepped forward and offered his hand, Uhura took it politely.

"Well, wha'd'ya know, he does have some manners after all," he said with a raised brow as they shook. Uhura laughed again and they stepped back. "Don't let us keep you." He turned his attention back to Kirk.

"As I recall there was promise of some weeping resulting from a beating I have yet to see, Jim." McCoy proved to be an apt distraction allowing Uhura to get on with her way to the track.

"Hey wait! Oh there will be tears…"

She chuckled and stepped out onto the track their banter and rough housing falling quickly into the background. After a few laps, just enough to get her blood moving and her muscles warm she pulled out of the lanes and walked back towards the mats where she could proceed with stretches.

Fully limber she made her way over to the complex hybrid stationary machinery that took up a good portion of the floor space. She found a free weight training machine and tapped the computers console drawing up a list of exercises she wished to go through, adjusting the rep counts and weight limits while ignoring the other moving bodies around her and computerized voices reminding them they only had four more curls left.

Overall it was boring and a bit painful, but it gave her some much-needed time to think as she sat and did leg curl after curl, press after press.

When she finally finished with all she could do for the day, she wiped down the machine and decided a small reward jog was in order. Upon the track again she barely made it half way around when she was called up short.

"Cadet Uhura."

There was no mistaking that voice, even as it was slightly out of breath. She turned and gave Spock a polite smile as he deactivated the treadmill he'd been running on.

"Commander. Don't stop what you're doing because of me." She held up her hands in an attempt to halt his progress but he was already stepping down from the machine with a PADD in hand.

He wore exactly what Uhura would have assumed him to wear while running, a black fleet undershirt complete with long sleeves and a set of black track pants that rustled amusingly when he moved. What wasn't so expected however was the sheen present to his face and the tell tale rings of moisture soaking his shirt even darker down his front. His hair stuck to his forehead and sweat beaded down the sides of his face.

"I have completed my necessary physical exercise quota for today, I was lingering only to finish your paper." He held the PADD up before him, his chest expanding and contracting distractingly.

"Oh you read it…" She looked quickly at the machine he had just vacated and back up at him, "_Here?_"

"Yes," he pulled the towel that had been hanging on the supports of the machine into his fist and swiped swiftly and efficiently at his face and neck with it. "I was adamant I would deliver my opinion upon it and found this to be my only available time."

Uhura watched slightly blankly as he upswept his hair off his forehead making him look strangely human for a moment.

"That's…very efficient of you." His hair resettled in dark imperfect clumps and she had to wonder in horror what her own hair looked like at the moment. Uhura cast her eyes downward.

"My opinions are not fully culminated, but the paper is well structured and strongly supported by scientific means. Lieutenant Commander Torre was indeed correct in submitting your writing to the Aielurin Sol Rotational." Uhura perked up at that, twisting her hands together behind her back to avoid the appearance of over eagerness.

"Really? Coming from you I take that as a high compliment." She pressed her lips together in a smile and backed up as he moved with the intention of walking away from the machinery.

"It is not a compliment, merely the truth."

They walked abreast, taking equal strides; Uhura's mind whirling over the seemly very official finality that her paper really was making an impact. Strangely it'd taken one usually science focused Vulcan to force the realization. She licked her lips and suddenly felt entirely out of place, walking in step with Spock, _Commander_Spock. She shook her head.

"Thank you for letting me know- that you read my paper," she said awkwardly, talking a half step so their strides fell out of synch.

"It was a fortunate turn of circumstance. Had you been just beginning your exercise I would not have interrupted you." He turned his head, a somewhat puzzled look upon his face.

"You…saw?" She guessed feeling acutely embarrassed.

"I was not aware of your presence until you began your final run. When it was clear you were already experiencing muscle fatigue I deduced you had been here for some time and would not object to my cutting your run short."

"Right." They emerged from the machinery and track, and continued towards the facility locker rooms, "You guessed it," she laughed lightly.

"It was not a guess." They bypassed the combat mats and rings. "It was a logical conclusion with an error margin of approximately 3.78 percent." Before she could retort however they were halted by the necessity to continue in opposite directions.

"A guess would be that you have decided to begin scheduling weight training time to improve your lower body strength and eliminate stiffness of your thighs after your most recent lesson."

Uhura gaped. Spock took a step backward.

"But it is only a guess." He turned, and without looking back strode down the short corridor and disappeared into the men's locker room.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

"I'm never going to make this jump!" She wanted to smack or kick something but the bike was solid, and of the two of them, _she_ would most likely give way before it did. It was almost a week since their conversation in the gym, and even though Uhura's muscles weren't protesting any longer she still wasn't any closer to defeating the obstacles.

Their lesson had started well, finishing up the walk through of the obstacle course had been simple. Her first slow solo journey was merely to show him what she had forgotten and needed review on. It was quickly out of the way but then of course it was time for Spock to stand on the sidelines and Uhura to conquer this thing for herself.

The first half always went well, the second half rougher, with longer holds and quicker thinking required to avoid spinning out over the anti-grav fields and awkwardly placed protrusions. Eventually she was moving smoothly through even those elements and it was only the energy sapping grinders she was required to jump that she just could not surpass.

Every time she got close to the glowing carpet of electricity she just couldn't put the energy into the bike that it needed to avoid making that horrible screeching noise and completely cut power, clunking heavily into the sand.

The first time she had failed she actually thought she had damaged the bike, quickly scrambling off of it and apologizing again and again but the bike was unharmed. Spock was mildly irritated and only because she had disrupted her own lesson. He explained that the grinder was usually used only by law enforcement to halt chases of low flying hovercraft. It was like what a row of spikes would be to rubber tires. To restart the vehicle the grinders merely had to be deactivated.

"Negativity is not optimal for this situation," Spock said into his comm as he stalked over to where she sat atop the large lump of currently useless metal and plastic. He crouched, pulling the end of the grinder out from under the bike and hitting the switch so it returned power where it belonged.

They went through the now familiar steps of rebooting the machine and sliding it out of the course so Spock could turn the grinders back on, but this time Uhura felt defeated and it showed. She had lost count how many times she had attempted the jump and failed. It was embarrassing and frustrating and she wanted to quit but every time she looked up and saw Spock watching her, her pride just wouldn't let her stop.

"Do not feel defeated because you are faced with what appears to be an insurmountable challenge. Each attempt increases your skill, and theoretically your confidence." She guided the bike back to the starting position as he spoke, barely hearing his words. They were the same as they had been the last however many times they had done this.

"Nyota." She looked up to find him standing next to her and she slipped off her helmet to hear him naturally. "You_are_ doing an exemplary job." He reached out and turned off the thrusters, leaving her buoying in the air.

"I…it's not going as well as I wanted it to."

"As a novice your progress is well ahead where even my own level of skill was, at the same hourly amount of instruction." Uhura squinted up at him, the morning sun glinting brightly behind his dark head.

"Who taught you?"

"My father. I was approximately sixteen Terran years old." Spock turned, blocking out the sun, "I did not respond as well to his teaching methods as you evidently do mine."

"It must be your mother's fault then," Uhura smiled even as Spock looked down at her with suspicion. "You said she was a teacher didn't you? You must have inherited some of her charm." His eyebrow began to creep up his forehead.

"A debate of nature versus nurture would surely result if you were to pursue this line of theorization."

"Well…lets get back to practice and then maybe we can avoid it." Spock bowed his head in acceptance of her terms and stepped back allowing her to resettle her helmet. With him just out of her peripheral, she took a deep breath and contemplated the course again.

As she ran over what needed to be done in her head she couldn't help but feel a tingle of something warm in the center of her chest. Spock had seen fit to give her a pep talk. She grinned within her helmet and twisted the throttle with purpose.

JRJRJRJRJRJRJR

Later as they sat in the diner huddled into a booth talking animatedly over Spock's PADD containing Uhura's paper and all of his extensive notes made upon it, she would smile just for a moment feeling extraordinary.

Her paper sent off to be read over by the brightest minds in her field, one of the academy's most well known and yet still mysterious instructors sharing tea with her in a friendly way, and of course making that jump after all– Uhura was on top of the world.


End file.
